“
Something severe is missing in him, and since I believe that the flaw was in his early scanning technology, there is nothing we can do to restore Luther to his full potential. However, he still offers himself to me willingly. In case some day he goes out of control, because it isn
’
t really for sure if he is an AI or a person, his shell has a failsafe with voice activation. The words I uttered earlier are from a dead language. When I speak them, he activates and wakes up. If I were to speak them again, he would fall asleep. Luther understands the failsafe and doesn
’
t feel the time he is asleep, so he doesn
’
t mind, do you, Luther?
”
“
Not at all, mistress Crimson,
”
he said, kneeling.
Luther
’
s body stood about six feet
,
eight inches and he loomed over both Max and Crimson. It appeared to be designed for speed and efficiency of movement. There were no extra fancy parts bogging down the mobility. His four arms would certainly give him an upper hand in combat as well.
“
If you don
’
t feel the time you are asleep, Luther, then why did you say it had been a long time?
”
Max questioned skeptically.
“
Because it must have been, what…five years since you
’
ve last awakened me from my sleep? Am I close to correct on that, Crimson? I am
making the assumption
because I remember you looking much younger.
”
“
It
’
s been seven, Luther, so thanks for the compliment. I must not be looking too bad in my old age,
”
she said with a grin.
“
You see when I am off, I am off. I have no knowledge of what is going on around me. So it feels as if I had seen her yesterday, but I am sure a lot has changed in the last seven years, hasn
’
t it?
”
Luther asked, still kneeling before Crimson.
“
That it has, Luther, my friend. The revolution is about to begin. In just a little while, I shall rally a call for supporters, but even if nobody joins in the uprising, I believe we still stand a good chance of winning. Max here is going to help me with the last two things I need, and I hope he can reach my deadline. I have all of my
minions
planted and by now, they
’
ve accomplished their tasks.
”
“
I see, very good, Crimson, my friend. My only regret is I couldn
’
t have been of more service to you. I am sorry for being what I am.
”
“
It
’
s no problem really. It isn
’
t your fault you got assassinated.
”
“
What are these minions you mentioned, Crimson?
”
asked Max.
“
Oh those? You know how I went out on that
‘
date
’
with Brian Nash from Barometrics last night?
”
“
Yeah, I recall,
”
said Max.
“
Well, he was the final piece of that puzzle. He has direct access to the last four Pilvikone that I need for my plan. You see, I, over the years, have been covertly having different sales reps or engineers plant hacking bugs in the devices that will allow me to command their power with this little computer I wear on my wrist band,
”
she said, pausing to point it out to Max. He had never noticed it before.
“
Anyways, I put a microchip into his head that allows me to give him commands that he will execute exactly within the parameters I type without him ever realizing he is doing it. In fact, that was what I was inputting on my tablet back in the lab. I took a break because I can get to that later today. I want to do a test run with the Pilvikone before using it in battle, however, not too soon before. It would be a shame for them to get wise to what I
’
ve done.
“
I felt I should introduce you to Luther here. He is going to be your martial arts instructor. He will train you how to fight unarmed and armed. So, go to the rack and find something that suits you close range, and then, let the battle begin!
”
she shouted playfully.
“
You
’
ve got to be frickin
’
kidding me! He is huge! And he ha
s
four arms! He is going to kill me!
”
Max protested.
“
I will not. I helped Crimson improve her skill years ago. I fear now she has far surpassed me and I wouldn
’
t provide any challenge to her even if I were out to kill her,
”
stated Luther.
“
Besides, Max, you don
’
t have a choice. You said you wanted to be useful in battle, right? Well, here is your chance,
”
she said as she exited the room
.
“
Find a weapon quick, and Luther…
i
f he dilly dallys, attack him anyways!
”
Max didn
’
t care for the sound of this. He made haste to the rack and began searching for the weapon that most suited him.
* * * *
Surge stayed his distance from Zarfa on the train. When he boarded, he wore a long black cloak with a cowl on it and dr
agged
behind himself a head amp that rolled on wheels. His two guards dressed in casual clothing, nothing that would raise any red flags or give them away. They just looked like a couple of bouncers following an eccentric musician.
He sat five rows from Zarfa and watched him as he contorted his unusually large limbs to try to get comfortable. The whole ride, so far, it had appeared as if Zarfa was unsuccessful at doing so. Surge felt uncomfortable as well, but more because he was going into enemy territory and knew he needed to keep his guard up. Polyhelix would certainly send the Faraza after him if they knew he was coming.
By now, they had been on the train for about twelve hours and even his mental links with Badger and Zax were severed. They were too far out of range to communicate. It was
only
him and his two nameless guards
now
. He would make idle chat with them to make it seem as if they were involved with him, but the reality was they were his puppets.
The two guards that accompanied Surge had proven themselves as very skilled fighters. Both of them were fifth
-
rounders, however, and had completed the Psyker Scream nanobot treatments. They could be released of their mental slavery, but it was unlikely Surge would do so. These two had been under domination for the last year and they would most likely be unhappy if unbound.
So as he made idle chatter, he realized he was nothing more than a man rambling to himself on a train. He had never felt alone before, but he had also n
ot
left Badger
’
s side like this in five years. He wished Synaptix had made the link stronger so he could still communicate telepathically with his friend.
Surge glanced over to Zarfa, still uncomfortably wriggling in his seat. After determining he wasn
’
t going anywhere any time soon, Surge closed his eyes and breathed deep. He envisioned what may happen when they arrived in Ilyeion and folded his hands in his lap. After telepathically commanding his two guards to keep watch, he fell asleep.
* * * *
Zax didn
’
t believe in wasting time. Badger had given him an order and he would carry it out. Only a day had elapsed since he had been handed down the commission to take Crimson
’
s life. He was told to be sure to do it in a way that anyone who might be loyal to her cause would have reason for deterrence, and he fully intended to carry that out.
He collected for himself twenty men, all of which were highly trained but still free will soldiers of the army. If they chose to disobey, he could override them at any moment instantly with telepathy, however the extent of free will they were granted allowed them to problem solve without the need of every little direct command. For a group this large, it would get tiresome having to detail their every command.
After stopping by the armory, he called them all to attention. There they stood, looking grisly and stern. These men knew they were going to go as a gang to extinguish the life that thrived inside of Crimson and Max both.
“
Through the means of the interface, we have been able to trace where she is. She lives on the top story of the billionaire estates that she owns. Her residence is a fortress complete with
DNA
scan barriers. Whoever she hasn
’
t given the command to accept will be fried on the spot. She has to come out at some time. When she does, we will spring an ambush. We will have four snipers located in different buildings around the block. Two here, one here, and the other here.
”
He pointed at a strategic map that he had laid out earlier for this use as he submitted his communications to the army.
“
The rest of us will stay holed up in an apartment across the street. Our benefactors at Synaptix have already secured it for us from a very
‘
cooperative
’
tenant. We will have a new watchman on point every two hours to signal us when she leaves the apartment.
“
She is crafty. We cannot rely on the snipers alone
. T
he moment the signal is given, make way to the street. If she isn
’
t dead by the time we make it out there, rain
a
fur
ious
assault on her as quickly as possible. We hope to kill her and Max in the same strike, but if we do not, it won
’
t matter. Crimson is the trained fighter, the elite assassin. Max is just some pathetic doctor. He has no ability to defend himself. He is not our priority. She is. Everyone clear on that?
”
The room full of men nodded at him simultaneously. After double checking their weapons, all twenty-one of them departed and re-gathered at their assigned posts. Now all they needed to do was lay in wait and execute their attack.
* * * *
Luther came in with a fury of blows upon Max, all of which he deflected with his plasma katanas. Max decided to dual wield since weight of the weapons didn
’
t matter. He would never fatigue or feel pain in his arms again. They did, however, draw calories at an alarming rate when being used this intensely.
His design had attached every nerve to give the most reliable control possible. His hands worked the same, if not better, than his hands before. However, something this complex would need a source of power; the electrical signal carried by the nerves was amplified, but the movements themselves relied on energy stores from the body. Though being synthetic prosthesis, they burned glucose.
That very factor
had been
an issue with early prosthetics. If someone had their legs or arms replaced, the body needed that many less calories
,
and weight gain often occurred in the patients. What Max forgot to factor in was that with his design and the fact that he would never feel fatigue, he could quickly burn more calories than he had in his body.
He had been sparring with Luther for about an hour, enough to tire out anyone. Luther never felt fatigue of any kind, and was actually going quite easy on Max. He could tell Max was fading from hunger; he did not let up. Luther deactivated the plasma field of his tonfas and launched another furious attack. An uppercut with his lower right, haymaker with lower left, elbow with upper right, and a quick jab with his upper left.
Each blow connected, each one struck Max with
tremendous power
. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. The jab had caught his already battered eye and reopened a wound on the eyebrow, which began to bleed profusely. He writhed on the ground in pain, both from the battle and from his stomach revolting against him due to his now insatiable appetite.
Luther walked over to the far end of the room and pressed a button on the wall. Crimson came in with a can of medifoam and some towels, both wet and dry.
“
Looks like you got your ass handed to you, Max. How did he do, Luther?
”
“
Not bad for a guy getting his cherry popped. I hope I didn
’
t destroy his eye. It looked pretty bad to begin with.
”
“
Don
’
t worry! I was done with it anyhow!
”
Max shouted as Crimson kne
lt
by his side and began washing his face.